IBM's New Linux Advertising 587
Amit Shah writes "IBM is airing a commercial featuring Linux as reported on Economic Times. This could be the first major way to reach out to normal users and explain the benefits of open source and Linux. The ad says, "Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community""
Share the Love (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone gets it, or is doing a good job of pretending to, anyway.
I was promised flying cars... (Score:5, Interesting)
That and "Where the flying cars? I was promised flying cars!"
Awareness? (Score:2, Interesting)
I will save final judgement for when I see the commercial during football on Sunday but based on that article the commercial doesn't do that. I think most US Open and Football watchers are just going to either ignore it or already be gone flipping.
First Linux commercial? (Score:5, Interesting)
Any information on whether there have been mass Linux commercials before this? We may be witnessing the beginning of a new era of Linux advertising. Marketing, marketing, marketing--we make fun of the people that major in it, and even more fun of the people that work in it, but it's certainly one of the biggest factors that helped propel Microsoft to the very top of the software heap. With a someday-equivalent force of marketing behind it, could Linux perhaps finally obtain the financial and spiritual backing it needs?
Sharks (Score:5, Interesting)
AntiFUD is an important part of this battle, which is why IBM is launching an advertising campaign about Linux. But legally they're like circling sharks. Not a sound. Just water rippling ever so slightly on the surface, a brief glimpse of a fin, as they slowly circle. Until it's time to lunge.
I'd like to add to it by saying that SCO is that loud mouthed kid who's splashing around in the water yelling obscenities and other unpleasantries at the sharks, almost daring them to attack.
Bring Back Dennis Leary! (Score:3, Interesting)
NFL.com (Score:3, Interesting)
So IBM has entered into a sponsorship deal with the NFL... lessee what the League's webservers are running:
yep, NFL.com runs Linux [netcraft.com].
Re:Want to see the AD ? (Score:5, Interesting)
Does that make me weird, sad, or both?
Re:Want to see the AD ? (Score:3, Interesting)
The old bad guy is dead, let the the young guys take over type of feeling
Re:I was promised flying cars... (Score:1, Interesting)
Linus didnt develop a "new" operating system, he cloned a very old one (Minix).
Of course, if the commercial went "In the early 90s, Linus Trovalds copied someone else's shit and put it on the internet for free" it probably wouldnt have the same effect.
I know you guys are excited about it, except.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Me personally, I'd have at least mentioned that it's free or that it isn't held by a single corporation. This commercial looks more like the sequel to A.I. or D.A.R.Y.L..
Just to address a few (Score:2, Interesting)
Any competent sysadmin already had their systems patched against that one.
2. no linux visual basic for applications cracks
When was the last new threat that was directly a result of Visual Basic scripting? By "new" I mean within the last three months or so.
4. no linux DRM media players
Who says you have to use WMP if you use Windows?
8. no having to hunt down 50 cds when trying to rebuild a machine
Gross exaggeration, obviously. And like in #1, any competent sysadmin should always know where their original discs are.
Re:"Makes life simpler". Right. (Score:3, Interesting)
If you don't want the Windows Media format... (Score:3, Interesting)
You can go straight to IBM's site [ibm.com] and download Real Media (high [rbn.com] | low [rbn.com]), QuickTime (high [rbn.com] | low [rbn.com]), or MPEG (high [rbn.com] | low [rbn.com]) versions of it.
And of course, if you use MPlayer [mplayerhq.hu], you can watch the movie from the Windows Media stream simply with:
mplayer mms://windowsmedia.dvlabs.com/adcritic/ibm-linux-p rodigy.asf
Enjoy.
Side note: does anyone else get the impression of Nazi era propaganda in this? It's an awesome ad, but come on: a blond-haired, blue-eyed kid? Why would such a child be the pinnacle of humanity? Just a thought, please don't moderate me for it.
Re:Linux. The Future is Open. IBM. (Score:5, Interesting)
Not totally true. If they want to sell it as a service then they have to test it TWICE or THREE TIMES than the usual since they can't trust that a single patch don't go over someone else's IP or don't start overwriting the system in an erratical way, trashing everything on the customers system. Still they have to pay a good deal for Quality Assurance.
I don't know what's giving you a warm fuzzy feeling. It's not charity. They're not "supporting the community", they're simply saving tens of millions on software development by letting gullible, naive college kids work for free.
Naive college kids certainly lack the interest to support exotic hardware like IBM's S/390. Also "Naive" college kids usually want MORE to haxx0r the neighbour box or to enter on teacher's pc and change their votes. I know this because I am still a CS student. (No, I am also working in the meanwhile).
Less naive college kids instead want to collaborate on the linux kernel, the gnu system or whatever other project (bsd, reactos, xfree, their own videogame emulator) because:
a) it is a system they use and they want it to work well for them,
b) they want to gain more expertise in security or programming in a certain language, or simply make that grade in the "Operating System Course",
c) they maybe are doing it as an hobby, since they otherwise would get bored with other hobbies,
d) maybe they also hope for a "head hunter" to notice their work, OR to be able to use their software for a private, succesful infrastructure on which they can sell support (see VALinux's Sourceforge for an example).
Helping the opensource community is a balanced act between greed and helping people, between learning and teaching.
It's the same thing that happens at my local food co-op. The food co-op plasters the word "community" on everything, and people stand in line to "volunteer" there. The co-op is a business, and they're just using the same kind of gullible, naive people to work for free for them. Same fucking thing. Fuck it. Labor is expensive.
Yes, labor is so expensive that you have to buy retarded software [caldera.com] that helps your business to be competitive [pointserve.com] by cutting jobs, and sending people with 3 or 4 children to the land of the joblessness.
I bet that at least your local food "co-op" doesn't teach your children that treating people like a mop is rightful a thing to do. Hell, It looks like we got back to the time of the ancient romans, who used to have a philosopher that said that "slaves were talking tools".
Yes, let's go back to the Roman Empire, where if you didn't worship the empereor you were sent to the arena to be eaten by Lions while we are at it.
Maybe I'll convert my business to a "co-op", and let the "community" "volunteer" to run my business while I sit in the back raking in the money.
Why not start a TacoMcStarbucks instead? More or less the it is the same greedy business than a food co-op, Labor is cheap as well, but usually the returns are better than the normal "co-op" with food from the third world. Oh, and you don't also fuck people plastering the place with >, but instead you can honestly do the big bad ugly employer who juggles the careers of very young people. Ask them to work overtime then fuck them giving no extra unpaid holidays.
+ + + +
To be back ontopic: at least "co-op" give you a _good_ dream and _good_ memes as well. With everyone spreading bullshit like "enterprises and capitalism are better than the happiness and completeness of individual", "co-op"s are a useful point for stating that the individual IS the center of the society, and that if the individual is oppressed, the society loses.
Also remember that I reminded that IBM was a bad guy as well in the first place...
First step: Name recognition (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Sup with the slogan? (Score:4, Interesting)
The slogan, folks, is not this Zen-like dialogue that Reuters has quoted; the real slogan "The Future is open" and is a great soundbite for OSS/Software Libre.
Indeed, it is, but one of the many other dialogues on teamwork, G chords, Spanish, aircraft, soccer, bla bla bla... the idea seems to be that folks somehow teach this 9 year old kid, Linux, everything, and that the kid absorbs everything. Which is a great statement to make; next time Joe Superbowlfan reads that, say, they're using Linux while making aircraft, he'll make the connection and hopefully say, "Yeah, it's that intellectual (ie, not just "geek") thing that IBM is advertising".
In effect, IBM seems to be trying to change the perception of Linux from a geek's plaything to being something that's intellectually all-encompassing in its reach. Haven't seen the earlier IBM Linux ads, but it's an interesting brand strategy; wonder how the other Linux companies will advertise now (if they do, that is; I don't quite watch television, but something tells me that IBM is a first-mover here).
None of this, of course, tarnishes your point; the distinction between data and functionality is well-taken.
Spooky Ad (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd rather see the idea that other poster mentioned (show a bunch of geeks with glee in their eyes, each in a different country, and state "They are working on your future; for free. Linux: the future is open.") be implemented, that would give the right message. One of the geeks should be Linus himself, others could be e.g. Andrew Trigell, Brian Behlendorf, etc. and the names could be printed onscreen, to introduce each of them.
Re:Oh, I know, I know! (Score:2, Interesting)
This line needs to get out into the wider world. Hope that some journalists are reading and pick up on it.
HH
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Re:BS.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:BS.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course IBM is in it for themselves, but what has actually turned my head were some coments buried in the anti-SCO blast that went out a few days ago walking through SCO's complaint step-by-step refuting it. They talked about how IBM simply swallowed its pride when told by Linus their software wasn't chosen to go into the kernel for some feature. At least for now, IBM is being a "good member of the community."
We just need to make sure they have sufficient reason to always remain a good memeber.
IBM Linux Stories (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd like to hear stories from anyone concerning linux use within IBM. The contractors who are working with me (large credit card company producing banking software) were moaning to me the other day that even though IBM is gung-ho about linux they are still primarily a windows shop (e.g. sales people and even developers [those not doing linux development at least]) are all on windows or aix boxes and not linux. His words (somewhat paraphrased) were "Linux... good enough for our customers, but not us..."
Does anyone have info to the contrary? I love free software and linux (although I'd jump ship the second something "cooler" comes along :) and I appreciate IBMs current posturing, I'm just a little worried by the above sentiments.
Re:IBM Linux Stories (Score:3, Interesting)
There is a large majority of business productivity applications that work on require you to use a windows platform. Nearly everyone in the world uses MS Office on an Intel platform. I know that AIX will no longer be supported by IBM in the not so distant future, and they are in the process of porting the AIX apps to linux. However, their consulting branch nearly without exception uses windows and tools designed for windows. They have to for nearly all of their clients use windows at the desktop level. All documentation for their efforts are created using word, excel, and access. It makes sense, most people are familiar with the windows platform and so retraining wouldn't be an issue. Linux to the desktop will probably take longer than linux to the back-office.
I assume the contractors didn't work for IBM...did they?
Re:Want to see the AD ? (Score:3, Interesting)
Only if you already know what the commercial's talking about. Apple's ad was much better in the sense that it got you hyped about something you haven't seen before. IBM's ad gets you hyped about something you already love.
Why PHBs frown on Open Source (Score:4, Interesting)
The need to reach a diverse audience is growing, as studies show that technology buying is more frequently decided by business managers rather than technical specialists.
Correct. Which is also why the PHBs frown on use of Open Source in general, even when the company's directors have decided to go in an Open Source direction, unfortunately.
The PHBs can more effectively control the technical specialists when every time the technical specialist turns around to solve a simple problem or do something new, it requires purchasing something .
Purchasing something, in turn, requires providing lenghly explanations to these weasels in middle IT management who have never written a line of code in their lives, but who desperately need to keep justifying their existence by throwing around new buzzwords in *their* management meetings. Take away their purchasing power by using Open Source, and the poor dears will flounder -- and founder.
Also, the way these PHB's get to feel important, is by the sheer number of staff and dollars in their command. Fewer dollars for software that can be supported by fewer people, means the PHB is less important--in both his own eyes, and in the eyes of his peers -- other PHB's.
If the techo can be the hero just on the basis of having acquired, modified, fully tested and deployed something before PHB even gets wind of it, good-bye PHB.
Open Source threatens to take away a whole layer of IT "management" which, in the interest of the company's productivity and profitability is a GOOD thing. But not in the interests of the smarmy layer of IT "management" that is so clearly undermined by the Open Source process.
So IBM has to market to company directors and senior management, because their interest is in the company's productivity and profitability.
Perhaps IBM needs to air a commercial which features a lowly techo and a company director violently agreeing on an Open Source deployment that has saved the company millions, with a PHB middle management drone making increasingly weak arguments against it, while the PHB is taking back-handers and getting his latest round of meaningless buzzwords and lame, losing anti-linux rhetoric from some MicroSlut PR drone.
Transcript (Score:5, Interesting)
IBM ... (Score:3, Interesting)
IBM = Linux (Score:2, Interesting)